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CHINA | Guangzhou, China Travel Guide
Thursday, April 18, 2024
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Guangzhou's Parks
Guangzhou's Parks
Guangzhou has a league of large parks which can make for the perfect retreat from the heat and smog of the city. If you just want to take a quick break from the stress of the street, then western Liwan and central Liuhua or Yuexiu parks are close at hand, while the Orchid Garden is more of a treat. For greater escapes and a bit of hiking, Baiyun Shan, north of the city, is the place to go.
Orchid Garden
Nestled just off busy Jiefang Bei Lu at Jiefang Bei Lu, the Orchid Garden is a bastion of tranquility with a wonderful collection of orchids, lilies and palms dissected by meandering stone paths. Next door you can peek at the Islamic cemetery, which isn’t open to non-Muslims but holds the tomb of Abu Waqas who established the Huaisheng Mosque.
Yuexiu Park
A little east of Liuhua Park at Jiefang Bei Lu, Yuexiu Park covers some 220 acres and has everything from pavilions and pagodas to statues and a museum. Most of all, Yuexiu is a place to get away from the crowds, although domestic tourists flock to the Five Rams Statue in the south, which commemorates the city’s mythical foundation. A little more worthwhile is the Municipal Museum (daily 9 am-5 pm; ¥5), which traces Guangzhou’s history from the Stone Age and is housed in a surviving part of the Ming city walls in the center of the park.
Baiyun Shan Park
Located 9 miles north of city center, the White Cloud Mountains barely qualify for their title given their maximum height of only 1,250 feet, but their 12 square miles offer some respite from Guangzhou’s polluted and steamy streets and are close enough to visit comfortably in a day-trip. The bus drops you near Yuntai Gardens where there’s a cable car to the Cheng Precipice (aka White Cloud Evening View), halfway up the hill from where there are great views if the weather is clear. Or you could hike up to the Cheng Precipice in a couple of hours. There are a range of other attractions here, including Mingchun Valley Aviary and the restored Nengren Temple, which gives some idea of what the forested hills were like in the past when their slopes were scattered with monasteries and temples.
From the Cheng Precipice it’s another hour or so up to the top at Moxing Ling (Star Touching Summit). It’s a hot hike in summer so make sure you drink enough water on your way up, although there are teahouses and reststops dotted along the trails, so there’s no need to carry much in the way of supplies. You can return by cable car or, if your legs are up to it, take the path back down.
Last updated October 2, 2008
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